“Now, Aurora. That’s not what I meant. You took that remark the wrong way.”
“Did I, Ian? Then maybe you should explain to me what you meant.”
The waitress walked over and asked us if we were ready to order. Ian looked at her and asked her nicely to give us a few moments to look over the menu. Ian opened his menu and, while he glanced at it, he tried to explain his words.
“All I meant was that last night’s restaurant was fine dining at its best. This place is more, very casual dining, I guess you could say.”
“You mean ‘lower class’ because that’s what I am.”
Ian looked up at me from his menu and stared into my eyes. I stared back. He was searching for something inside me. But he wouldn’t find anything. It was nothing but a dark, cold, lonely place.
“I never said that, Rory. Don’t put words in my mouth.”
The waitress came and took our order. God, I was starving.
“I have something for you,” Ian said as he reached into his suit pocket.
He held a cell phone in his hand and he extended it across the table towards me. I looked at it and then at him. I was shocked that he would give me a phone.
“What’s this for?” I asked.
“For you. You can’t be walking around without a phone. What if I needed to get in touch with you or you needed help? My number to the house, office, and my cell phone are already programmed in, and so is Adalynn’s if you need to speak to her.”
“Thank you, Ian, but I can’t accept it. You’ve done enough already.”
“Nonsense. You need a phone, Rory. Just take it and don’t mention it again.”
“I’ll pay you back when I get my first check.”
Ian took a sip of his water and, as he set the glass down, he looked at me strangely. “What do you mean when you get your first check?”
“That’s the news I wanted to tell you! I got a job today. I’m working at Java Hut, and I start tomorrow morning!” I smiled.
Ian looked down. “I see. Why did you feel the need to go and get a job? I don’t think you’re fully healed yet.”
“I’m fine, and I’m in less pain every day. In fact, I’m going to start running again. I got the job because I need to start over. I need to get my life back on track, and I need to find my brother. In order to do that, I need money.”
Ian looked at me and paused before speaking. “You sure have a lot of needs.” He smiled.
I couldn’t help but smile when he said that because the smile on his face was something that captured me every time.
“You mentioned that you run.”
“I used to run every day until—” I stopped as I looked down at my food.
“It’s okay, Rory. You just took a little break. You’ll be running again soon. Maybe we can go running together,” he said.
“You run?”
“Yes. I run along the beach every morning.”
“I’ve never seen you run.”
“That’s because I’m up and out at the crack of dawn. You’re still sleeping.” He smiled.
“I’d like that,” I said.
The way Ian looked at me after I said that was different. I saw something in his eyes that I’d never seen before: a glimmer of light.
Chapter 6
We headed back to the house and Ian said he had some work to do, so he walked straight into his study and shut the door. I went upstairs to change into more comfortable clothing and then went and sat in the lounge chair on the patio and stared out into the night. Listening to the waves lap against the shore was peaceful. I began to think about Stephen. My mind wandered back to when Stephen and I were living in that house. As I was slowly closing my eyes and starting to drift off, I was startled by Ian’s loud voice behind me.
“Why didn’t you tell me that your brother is your twin?”
“Jesus, Ian, you scared the shit out of me. What the hell does it matter and how did you find out?”
“It doesn’t matter how I found out. What matters is that you aren’t being honest with me and I want to know what else you’re hiding.”
A rage began to brew up inside me as I contemplated whether or not to go off on him. I opted for going off on him. I shot up from the chair and stared directly into his eyes as I pushed my finger into his chest.
“I’ve been honest with you about everything. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you Stephen is my twin brother and it wasn’t something I was trying to hide. Do you know how embarrassing it was even to tell you that it was my brother who attacked me and that he’s schizophrenic? You already think I’m trash as it is,” I yelled, and turned and walked away.
As soon as I stepped through the door and into the kitchen, Ian grabbed me and pushed me up against the wall, holding my arms above my head. “Don’t turn your back on me, Rory. I’m sorry. I don’t think you’re trash. I think you’re broken and I can fix you,” he whispered in my ear.
His hot breath traveled down my neck and my body went into a near convulsion. I wanted him, but I knew if anything were to happen, it would destroy me. I would become too emotionally attached and when he got tired of me and moved on, I wouldn’t recover. He brought his face to mine as he stared into my eyes.
“I’m not broken. I’m shattered. I’m a million tiny pieces that would take longer than forever to piece back together. So please, do me the favor and don’t even try,” I whispered.
His grip on my arms lightened as he let go and took a step back, giving me one last look before he turned around and walked away. I stood and placed my hand on my neck where his hot breath had touched me. I took in a deep breath and walked upstairs. Tomorrow was the day I start my life over, alone.
****
“Rory, I need you. I need your help. I’m sorry I hurt you. You know it wasn’t my fault. You promised you’d always take care of me. You said that no matter what happened to us, you’d always be there.”
“Stephen, where are you? I can’t see you. I’m trying to find you.”
“Rory, I don’t believe you. You lied to me, Rory! YOU LIED TO ME!”
“I’m sorry!” I screamed as I felt hands gripping my arms.
“Rory, wake up.”
I could hear Ian’s voice in the distance as I was running through the woods. He was telling me to wake up, but I couldn’t. I ran, calling Stephen’s name and looking every which way for him.